Friday, November 20, 2015

The Sinking Island of Sheep

Hog Island Sheep Profile
(SVF org)

This blog is about ancient peoples, lands left by all and left to be roamed by once domesticated animals…. a story about rescue and …some very nice sheep. During the 16th century, explorers from Europe found a rich new continent, which had plentiful supplies of fish, lumber, furs and other goods: the Americas. People like Giovanni da Verrazano (1524) first met the Lenape people off the coast of , what is now called Virginia, but didn’t stay long. He did create the way to this new part of the world for a lot of European fishermen, whalers but also ..yes..slavers. The ancient life of the Lenape people changed forever. The Lenape people had no immunity against the diseases the Europeans brought in. By the time settlers came to find new homes and start their future farming a new land, 90% of the Lenape people had died. The ones that remained were forced to “sell” the lands they had lived on for centuries..and moved to Canada and Oklahoma.

One of the lands sold to the new settlers was a little island off the coast of Virgiania called Hog Island and with the settlers came their animals ofcourse. Before the settlers came to the Americas there were no horses and no sheep to be found there at all. The weaving and spinning that was done by the Lenape was done with plant fibres not animal fibres. They wore beaver furs and deer skin to protect them against the icy cold and the sticky heat in summer.

Ofcourse the settlers brought a whole different set of “dresscodes” and way of surviving with them, so, sheep were part of the survival plan.

The settlers that came to the barrier island off the coast of Virginia, Hog Island, brought a British sheep breed with them. I have not been able to find which particular breed or breeds they could have been, but judging by the way the fibre behaves I think it may have been Hampshire Downs or Shropshire or Southdown. Anyway, I digress, I was still in the 1700s…
It was in 1672 that a group of 22 colonists and their families went to live on Machipongo (Hog) Island, just a few miles above the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. What became of them is an impenetrable mystery. They disappeared so completely that no descendants are known. Despite their fate, it remained the consensus that living on the island was good. The sea, the inlets and the marshes teemed with fish and fowl. As for flesh, the natural pastures were ideal for livestock, particularly hogs (hence the name Hog Island). There must have been an impressive number of these at one time to cause the romantic-sounding name Machipongo to be dropped in their favour. It wasn’t til the Civil War times that a second colonization began. The sheep ascendants from back in 1672 were still there and were thriving.

You can see Hog Island still named "Matchapungo island" on this old map here..
4th barrier island from the top right of the picture

A hog Island sheep with her lamb: The Hog Island Ewes are excellent mothers

The people lived truly on the fat of the land. Oysters, clams, crabs and fish or a superiority unchallenged in the rest of the United States were staples. Vegetable gardens yielded two crops a year. Aside from a few necessities like clothing and shelter, nothing required cash.

The hardy, self-reliant folk laughed at insurance agents. Their total taxes were a few cents a year paid on their real estate to the Northampton county treasurer. They did not even have to license their automobiles. They made their own roads. They enjoyed such health that a doctor would have starved. Though many of them were laid low by the flu epidemic of 1918, no one died.

Every man kept his money in his home, and in some cases this meant considerable cash. But no one ever reported it missing.
There was one store operated by Sam Kelly. Like everything else on Hog Island, this store was different from what you would expect: No one ever was permitted in it. Every morning Mr. Kelly made the rounds taking orders. Every afternoon, after loading up in his forbidden precincts, he delivered. He kept this up until he was over 80. No one ever knew him to buy anything except to sell it. He was the secret topic of conversation: how much money did he have and where was it hidden? After he died in lonely squalor, his quarters were searched. Thousands of dollars were hidden away in nooks and crannies. But it was calculated that the amount should have been much greater. It was decided that he had buried most of it. It was never found….

Slowly but surely the island was being swallowed by the sea. In the 1930s the sea started to move in…so the people moved out.
Whole houses were detached from their moorings and brought to the mainland. The whole community left but some of their heritage 1672 sheep remained.
In 1933 a string of hurricanes and “nor’easter” storms washed across the island and discouraged the residents from continuing life in their island community. By 1945 all of the residents of Hog Island had migrated to the Eastern Shore of Virginia and had taken most of their livestock with them. Many sheep remained on Hog Island and continued to thrive as they had for centuries. The annual shearing and notching in the spring was generally the only contact between the owners and their sheep. The sheep roamed freely upon their “floating” pasture foraging for marsh grass and drinking fresh water from small pools that had been dug ankle deep into the sandy soil.

(photo courtesy of the Baltimore Sun, 1957)

The last sheep were removed from Hog Island in 1974 when the Nature Conservancy purchased the island. But, surprise!!! : Four years later, Virginia Coast Reserve agents found, to their surprise, a thriving flock of sheep on the island. This is a testament to the extreme hardiness of these animals.

The Nature Conservancy removed the last of the sheep in late August 1978, to return them to full domestication. Ten rams and twenty ewes travelled to Virginia Tech for research into the breed’s parasite resistance.
The year-long study indicated that isolation, not resistance, had kept the sheep virtually parasite free on the island.

Following their stay at the University, the remnant flock found a new home at George Washington’s Birthplace National Monument. While private breeders hold some flocks, many Hog Island sheep remain part of the heritage landscapes of living history museums, including Plymouth Plantation, the Museum of American Frontier Culture, Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, George Mason’s Gunston Hall, George Washington’s Birthplace, and the National Colonial Farm in Williamsburg. The Hog Island sheep look right at home at the Colonial Farm in Williamsburg considering they descend from and resemble historic sheep that existed in the New World during and after the colonial period.

The Hog island sheep sure can stand the very harsh conditions because of their extremely high lanolin content in their fleece.

It is the most water repellent fibre I have ever worked with even with almost all the lanolin removed it has this strange quality of soaking the water up and then spitting it out again almost immediately, which means getting dry after a heavy storm would have been a lot easier than being soaked to the bone for those sheep.
I found their fibre extremely nice to work with: it traps the air beautifully, it is slightly crisp but not so much as that of the North Ronaldsay.

The Locks are dense and downy and the staple length is medium to short, like that of a down sheep like Southdown and Hampshire down sheep. Professional mill processing of Hog Island sheep is hardly ever done because it can result in a lot of nepps.

I found spinning the fibres, that the singles “ask” to be spun reasonably fine. It sets the short fibres in the twist. That said, I think an art yarn which asks for core spun fluffiness can also be amazing !

The micron count as with all critical or endangered breeds vary a lot. This lot was around the 22 micron. I think it is perfectly suitable to make socks, shawls , scarves out of. Just like the Hog Island sheep it can withstand quite a lot. It also depends what you “tolerate” close to skin. Everybody is different.

The fibre is not lustrous and I was told that because it has such a matte appearance that when you dye it, you can get a very muted colour. I tried. I dyed with Indigo, Madder, onion skins, mushrooms and walnut amongst others but also some Landscape dyes (the colourway Party Time for example). Reds are harder but with a bit of perseverance I found doing a very slow immersion or steaming and then letting it cool down overnight can result in quite saturated colours.

Most of the Hog Island sheep are white. Only 10% are black. The lambs have cute black spots on their body and their fleece but the sport disappear when they get older.
The face and legs of these sheep can be speckled brown, white, and black, or have black faces and legs.

Wool from this breed is of medium weight with fleece yields ranging from one to 4 kilos. The sheep will naturally shed their wool slowly each year, but most owners choose to shear them in order to collect wool and create a more even looking coat on their sheep.
The ewes make excellent mothers and most often give birth to twins. Hog Island sheep are fabulous foragers and prefer to browse rather than graze. They stay in very tight flocks and are extremely alert in nature.

Special IxCHeL Gift Vouchers

Want to give somebody something special and still let them pick out their fav colour or fibre blend? Well, search no more: I offer an IxCHeL gift voucher package that is so hard to resist you even want to buy one for yourself ..lol The Giftvouchere will be emailed to you or your friend with a unique number to quote when buying from my updates or at any of my markets. The Vouchers are valid for 1 year. Here’s the deal:

AU$25 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

A personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receivers first order in Australia (for overseas customers you can deduct AU$9 off your shipping cost!) and a badge

AU$50 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

Comes with a personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receiver's first order in Australia(for overseas customers you can deduct AU&9 off your shipping cost!) , a badge, a bunny $photo and last but not least some amazing fluffy stuff in a gift pack

AU$100 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

Comes with a personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receivers first order in Australia (for overseas customers you can deduct AU$9 off your shipping cost!), a badge, a bunny photo and last but not least some amazing fluffy stuff and yarn in a gift pack!

Just let me know what giftvoucher pack you would like to gift to a friend or yourself! And I will send you all the details.

Landscape dyes

100g tubs AU$11

Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time, just never thought to put them on my blog. They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades. Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.

New IxCHeL Club sign ups are now open!

(til quotas are reached or until December 31st)

January, February and March 2016 !

For all our international club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me and enquire about the options available.

IxCHeL Fibre Club
January, February and March 2016

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$24 or more

All the tops will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel Fibre Club !
Price to join the IxCHel Fibre Club #27 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2016) is AU$72 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #27 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2016 Club is going to be shipped out end of January. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Clubs January, February and March 2016

Every month for three months (January, February and March 2016) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn or a 3ply or a 4 ply); Every month a new sock pattern, tips and instructions ! Now is that GOOD or is that GOOD ??!

I will even offer a double serve for those of you who like their socks extra long !

By the way: you don’t HAVE to knit socks if you don’t want to.. the hand dyed yarn is amazingly nice for scarves, cowls, beanies and even tops ! Anything goes .

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Clubs January, February and March 2016

Here are all the details and just pm me when you have any questions or want to be part of the funky bunny batt club Movement ;-) Welcome to the blingy dark side ;-D

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed funky bunny batt per month to the value of AU$40 or more .

The batts will range in weight from 140grams to 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf and bison and rare sheep breeds !!!! All the batts will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel funky bunny Club ! Every month you will receive a HUGE luxury funky bunny batt !

Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed , super luxurious funky bunny batt for January, February and March 2016.

Price to join the Ixchel Funky bunny for three months is :

For Australia : $108+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$108+AU$51 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$108+AU$60 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$108+AU$45 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY BATT CLUB now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The first installment is going to be shipped out end of January :) Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

Have a fun weekend Creating your Dreams!

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

Have fun !!!

Dates to put in your Calendar !!

The last two months of this year I have private workshops and spinning lessons on the calendar, fibre art projects and exciting work for the Home of HoP Couture ;-)

I will let you all know when there are pop up market stalls or spin ins planned again for next year as soon as I know them.

How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au2. message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

No comments:

Ixchel is an Australian Fibre Farm in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, breeding their own fluffy animals pesticide free and organic. Charly McCafferty (Ixchel Bunny) does all the spinning, dyeing, knitting and weaving and loving every second of it: Angora Rabbit, Cashmere, Mohair, Merino, Alpaca, Camel or even Yak.Paul McCafferty is constantly juggling work on the fibre farm and is the brain behind making all the animal housing and organising the farm harmoneously.
Email:Ixchel@rabbit.com.au

About Me

Email: ixchelbunny@yahoo.com.au
.
Born in the Netherlands, part Dutch and Native American, brought up in Europe, Canada ,the States and Latin America and now living in Australia, I see myself as a world citizen enjoying every moment that this life is giving me. Having such a diverse background I feel very priviledged on how it makes my art (be it paintings or wearable art) so universal and yet so special.